By Clare R. Lopez on November 14, 2012

Over the years, Sarah Assbring, better known as El Perro Del Mar, has shaped both love and loss into the sound of sweet melancholy. Yet her latest album, Pale Fire, tempers the saccharine by adopting a coat of frost. Setting the stage for the following songs, the title track opens the record with a crisp horn holding out a few steady notes. Before long, Assbring softly chants conflicting emotions, singing, “Never grow tired of this pale, pale fire/Never get out of this pale, pale fire,” which merges with ever blooming and retracting layers of icy electronics. While 2009’s Love Is Not Pop is delicately laced with melodic beats, this record boldly wields them with a ’90s bent from the start. It’s an unmistakable departure. But when her staid delivery and lyrics sink in, the artistry that draws listeners toward El Perro Del Mar comes to light.